The present invention relates an improved design for an adjustable mount. The adjustable mount is particularly well suited for use with mounting fixtures to an optical table.
The practice of advanced optical techniques requires the utilization of highly stable, rigid, and vibrationally damped structures in order to eliminate movement of the various components of an optical system relative to each other. These criteria are particularly important for laser-optical systems wherein even minor errors in the positioning of components can be devastating to the results obtained. One particular field where such high precision placement of the system components is required is the field of optical holography, where lasers are used to create precise three-dimensional images or holograms. Other fields include laser particle sensing technologies. To this end optical tables are used for supporting optical and other analytical devices, for example lasers; beamsplitters; directional, parabolic and other optical mirrors; and various optical lenses. All these components must be mounted on extremely rigid flat surfaces and bending or twisting of the surface of the optical table must be minimized in order to prevent displacement of the components relative to one another.
Optical tables are generally provided with a plurality of precisely formed and positioned holes to facilitate the mounting of the system components. And in order to benefit from the stability and rigidity of the optical table, the optical mounts utilized to affix the system components to a particular hole or holes on the optical table must be similarly rigid and stable. It is also highly desirable for the mounts to be adjustable to allow adjustment of the position and/or orientation of the optical components. To this end, many types of optical mounts have been designed which provide convenience in adjusting the position and/or orientation of various types of individual optical components or of entire optical systems. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,016,230; 5,506,424; 6,198,580; and 4,712,444xe2x80x94the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entiretyxe2x80x94all show various optical mounts known in the art. A wide variety of general-purpose optical mounts for lenses, mirrors, lasers, fiber optics, and the like are also commercially available. FIG. 1 shows one such mount presently available for utilization with optical tables.
However, such mounts as is shown in FIG. 1 have been less than ideal for xe2x80x9creal worldxe2x80x9d applications. Particularly, these mounts have a tendency to move out of alignment when shipped such that a precise arrangement of optical components is ruined when shipped and the recipient of the system must undertake to realign the components of the system. Particularly in an optical system, which may utilize many optical mounts, this requires a significant expenditure of time and money by the user. Systems incorporating optical components, including, for example, PCB drilling applications and laser eye surgical systems, are specific applications where durability and transportability are significant problems that must be addressed. Thus, it would be highly desirable to have a highly stable, rugged adjustable optical mount that can be positively locked after adjustment such that inadvertent movement of the mount is prevented.
The present invention comprises an improved mounting structure for mounting precision components to a stable structure. In a preferred embodiment, the stable structure comprises an optical table and the precision components comprise optical system components. The elements of an improved mounting structure of the present invention comprise a first mounting plate and a second mounting plate adjustably fixed to a first mounting plate and in facing engagement with the first mounting plate. The mounting structure further comprises a pivot ball having a hole formed therethrough, the first and second mounting plates pivotable about the pivot ball, and a spring fixed to the first mounting plate at a first end and fixed to the second mounting plate at a second end, the spring passing through the hole formed through the pivot ball.
In alternate embodiments, the first mounting plate is adjustably fixed to the second mounting plate at a first location, or at a first and second location, or at a first location and merely fixed at a second location. Also, in a preferred embodiment, the pivot ball is positioned within a recess formed by cooperating first and second detents provided in the first and second mounting plates.
A preferred method of the invention comprises the steps of: providing a mount comprising a first mounting plate, a second mounting plate, a pivot ball having a hole formed therethrough, and a spring; positioning the pivot ball between the first mounting plate and the second mounting plate; affixing the spring to the first mounting plate at a first end; and affixing the spring to the second mounting plate at a second end such that the spring passing through the hole formed through the pivot ball.